What Eric Musselman Said Following USC's Dominating Win Over UC Santa Cruz

The USC Trojans finished undefeated in non-conference play following a dominating 102-63 win over the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. Here's what USC coach Eric Musselman said following the Trojans' dominant win.

Dec 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Eric Musselman reacts in the second half against the UC Santa Cruz at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans defeated the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs 102-63 to earn an undefeated record in non-conference play. With the win, the Trojans improved to 12-1, which is their best start since the 2021-22 season. 

Four USC players scored in double figures in the win over the Banana Slugs, with Youngstown State transfer center Gabe Dynes leading the Trojans in scoring with 16 points, five rebounds, four blocks, and two assists, on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.  

Dec 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans center Gabe Dynes (45) dunks the ball in the first half against the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Star guard Chad-Baker Mazara and forward Ezra Ausar scored 15 points, while Jacob Cofie added 14 points in the win for USC. Former Robert Morris Colonials guard Kam Woods, whom the Trojans added as a midseason transfer addition amid injuries to their backcourt, made his USC debut, recording six assists, six rebounds, and three steals.

Following Sunday’s win, USC coach Eric Musselman reached a milestone of 250 career wins in a college basketball coaching career that has included previous stops at Arkansas and Nevada. Here’s what Eric Musselman said following USC’s win over UC Santa Cruz.

What Eric Musselman Said:

Dec 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Eric Musselman reacts in the first half against the UC Santa Cruz at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

On Reaching 250 Career Wins:

“I mean, I didn’t know it. I guess everyone knew it but me. I’ve been fortunate to coach a lot of really good players," said Musselman. "That’s the only way to win as a coach, is to have great players. I’ve been blessed to have great players and great staff members, especially the guys that have been with me for a long time.”

On the Addition Of Kam Woods And His Performance In USC Debut:  

Dec 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard Kam Woods (13) is defended by UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs guard Thomas Conley (12) in the first half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

“We recruited him early on in the portal, and things just didn’t work out, but we really wanted him early on. We kind of kept in contact, and then once he wasn’t anywhere, we felt like when we had the injuries, he’d be a great addition,” Musselman said.

“I think he’s going to force us to run more. I think he’s going to allow us to play in transition way more than we have, because he’s a kick-ahead, pass-first mentality. You could see that he commands the game, and he led us in assists tonight. He’s a guy that’s really going to help us,” Musselman continued.

“He’s a high assist player and high steal player, and we’ve been missing creating steals. We’re at the bottom of the NCAA in steals, so he’s going to help us, and he rebounds in his position. His three great qualities are creating steals, passing, kicking ahead, and defensive rebounding for his position.”   

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On Gabe Dynes' Performance:

“I thought he stepped up and played really well. I thought he rolled, below the defenders, and led us in scoring, and it's a huge step in the right direction. His four blocks, eight of 10 from the field. I thought he played really well tonight,” said Musselman.

On Alijah Arenas Returning To Practice:

Dec 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard Alijah Arenas (0) warms up prior to the game against the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

“Alijah was great, phenomenal. Kam and Alijah changed the intensity, the talking, the communication, the sense of urgency changed immediately upon those two stepping on the floor. Alijah’s going to help us a lot. Great passer, willing passer, one-on-one player, can go get a shot wherever he wants. He’ll add three-point shooting. We’re really long with him and Chad out there at the guard spot,” Musselman said. 

“We are long, which is what we envisioned when we took this job, wanting to have great length at the one, two, but he’s behind everybody. He’s getting closer, and we’ve stated that mid-January, right on target for that,” Musselman continued.

On Playing With a Three-Big Lineup:

“The thought process going into the game was our next game is against Michigan, and it’s kind of like a baseball term opener and they have an opener lineup, where they play three bigs and so my thought process was I don’t want to go to Ann Arbor, and it would be the first time we start three bigs,” Musselman said. 

“I don’t know if we will. I don’t know what the lineup will be for us in Ann Arbor, but at least now we have film to try to help our team. The thought process was not about tonight. The thought process was that we would go to Michigan, and Michigan starts a huge lineup. Michigan does it for about four minutes, so the question is, do we do that with four minutes? Or do we start JB with a big lineup because he can stretch their bigs away from the floor?” Musselman continued.

What’s Next For USC?

Michigan head coach Dusty May reacts to a play against Villanova during the second half at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With non-conference play wrapped up, USC will head into the Christmas break in great shape before facing a difficult Big Ten road trip to begin the new year against No. 2 Michigan (Jan. 2), No. 9 Michigan State (Jan. 5), and Minnesota (Jan. 9). 

The road trip will be a good challenge for USC’s case to be an underrated team in the Big Ten this season, as they’ll face two of the conference's best teams, Michigan and Michigan State, to start off the road trip. USC’s matchup against Michigan on Jan. 2 is scheduled to tip off at 4:00 p.m. PT at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor with the game broadcast on Peacock.